Of course, it’s not always possible to get physically closer to the subject of your photo, but if your camera has a zoom control – this is the time to use it.

If you’re at a wedding, leave the group photos to the wedding photographer – instead get in close (either physically or using your zoom) to create a much more interesting shot. Keep close up shots of people to a maximum of three, so you can still get enough detail in!

Combining this technique with the rule of thirds means you can start 2010 with some great photos – ready to go in your next Life Poster!

Use the rule of thirds to help compose your photos

The image above is split into 9 sections – three horizontal and three vertical – hence the name – rule of thirds. Aligning the face in the photo with the intersections of the lines and the horizon along the horizontal line help to make the photo work.

When composing your photograph, decide what the key elements of the photo are – be it a face, a building or a view. Then, arrange the key elements of your photo so that they fall as close as possible to the intersections of the grid. Some digital cameras have an option to display a grid as shown in this image to help you compose your shot using the rule of thirds (check your manual if you’re not sure!). If your camera does not have this function, you can still use the rule – it will just require a bit more time when composing the shot!

We hope you find this tip useful! We look forward to putting your superbly composed shots together in your next life poster!

Free p&p on the Brooklyn 56 until 30 October

There is free post and packing on the Brooklyn 56 life poster until the 30 October, so now is your chance to order one of our popular A3 life posters. The Brooklyn is ideal for showing off your digital photos when you don’t have a lot of room – or you don’t want to choose too many photos. Just click here to go to our order page to get started!

Just go to the Products and Order page, decide which life poster you would like to give, and click on the gift certificate button. You will then be able to enter payment, and either print out the voucher yourself or arrange to have it emailed direct to the recipient on the date of your choice. It really is that easy!

The Emerald 98 is a really great way of maximising the number of digital photos you can show off and it comes ready framed, so all you have to do is put it on the wall!

If you want to keep up to date with our latest life posters and offers, please sign up to receive our email newsletter using the form on the right.

Choice of photo:: A wide range is best. If you are making a life poster of mainly one person (for example, of a  baby), try and find different poses; select wide shots as well as close ups, they don’t have to all be full face shots to work well, infact we’ve found that the more variety you have the better the life poster. If you are doing a life poster of mainly people, selecting a few photos of scenery or interesting objects that mean something to you, works really well. Some examples we’ve used are a jam scone, pint of beer, and a wedding ring. It adds a real personal touch and can remind you of all sorts of different occasions.

Colour:: Black and white photos interspersed with colour looks great, and a few photos with bold splashes of colour looks even better as it provides focus points on the poster. This is a piece of art afterall!

To illustrate what we do with your photographs take this example of a portrait photo of a baby.

A typical starting point for a portrait photograph.

The photo is to be used in a Sidney 100 life poster, which is a landscape life poster with landscape cells (when we talk about ‘cells’ we are referring to the individual image cells that make up a complete life poster).

The image cell of the life poster will dictate the minimum crop for the photograph:

Same photo with semi-opaque cropped areas.

Once this has been done, it will be clear if there is further room for more cropping of the photo to maximise its impact:

The photo cropped and placed in the life poster

We hope this shows how your portrait photos can be used in landscape cell life posters (the same principle applies to using landscape photos in the Ruby 72 portrait celled life poster).

The only limitation is when the photograph is of a group of people. It can be impossible to fit all the people into the cell, so unless you don’t mind missing some faces out of the photo, then this type of photograph is best avoided!

Please don’t hesitate to ask us if you have any questions regarding a life poster you’re interested in – it can save you time if you speak to us before going through your photos and will ensure you have the best possible life poster!

Show off your wedding photos with the Forever 72 life poster

You know how it is after your big day, the photographer has taken so many gorgeous photos… your friends and family have sent you lots of their pics… you have lots of memories… but it all went so quick! You want to relive it again… well now with our new wedding life poster you can! The Forever 72 is designed especially to capture all those precious moments and show them off in one frame. The great thing about a life poster is that whenever you look at it you see a different photo and so are transported back to a different moment of your big day. Anyway enough reminiscing!! The Forever 72 also makes a unique wedding present for that difficult to buy for couple.. or why not club together with friends and family of their photos for a surprise gift.

Pricing is done on an individaul basis, so why not look through your photos and contact us with your ideas!